Pyotr Veliky

The Pyotr Veliky (formerly known as the Yuri Andropov before 1992) is one of the four Kirov-class battle cruisers (heavy nuclear guided missile cruisers) that were built for the Soviet Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was actually not complete until 1996, at which point it was renamed and made part of the new Russian Navy, and the modernization was not finished until 1998. The Pyotr Veliky then entered the fleet as its main battle cruiser, while the other three vessels have been in either in reserve or beyond repair. The Pyotr Veliky has thus taken part in multiple naval drills and has seen deployment to different parts of the world, including off the coast of Syria in 2016 as part of a task group with the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. It will be soon joined by the Admiral Nakhimov cruiser, which is currently undergoing modernization and is to be complete in 2018.